Newspaper Page Text
PAG*, 5-Augiisi 16,1973
Byblos, a Most Intriguing City
of the World
Series--
J
It would be well worth the time to read the Council’s fuller
treatment of religious liberty, namely the DECLARATION ON
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. It is a uniquely American
contribution to the Council, created chiefly by the late John
Courtney Murray, S.J., out of his years of theological reflection
on religious freedom within the American democratic
experience. The Council states: “God calls men to serve him in
spirit and in truth. Hence they are bound in conscience but they
stand under no compulsion . . .man is to be guided by his own
judgment and he is to enjoy freedom” (no. 11).
Undoubtedly Roman Catholic and Baptist interpretations of
the shared Christian principle of individual freedom differ.
However, before emphasizing the differences, it can be helpful
to reflect more deeply on one’s own religious tradition of
religious liberty.
American Baptists
& Religious Freedom
BY FATHER CARL J. PFEIFER, S.J.
Somehow it was leaked to the news media that Harry
Truman, while President of the United States, from time to time
enjoyed a good shot of whiskey. Most people at the time took
the revelation in stride, but not all. Some influential Baptists
launched an effort to have the President, himself, a Baptist,
expelled from the Southern Baptist convention because of his
occasional nip.
Truman responded in typically blunt fashion. He pointed out
in no uncertain language that no one in the Convention had any
power to expel him or anyone else. Although no theologian,
Truman was right.
This was not a matter of executive privelege, but of sound
Baptist principles. Baptist Churches have no right or procedures
for excommunicating members or enforcing ethical or doctrinal
standards. As a Baptist Harry Truman stood up for his freedom
of conscience which is a central part of Baptist tradition.
Perhaps nothing is more characteristic of Baptists in
America than their jealous concern about freedom of
conscience and religious liberty. For Baptists it is a deeply held
conviction that no one has spiritual authority over the
individual believer.
Only God and the Bible bind the Baptist’s conscience. There
are no creeds, no sacraments, no ecclesiastical systems of
government, no prescribed ritual. Baptists are religiously
democratic because faith is necessarily a free commitment.
For that same reason they refuse to baptize infants.
The Baptist insistence on religious liberty and individual
freedom is something to be admired, something for which we
Americans can be grateful. The fact that the Baptist
interpretation of this radically Christian principle differs from
that of other Christian Churches including our own, need not
diminish either our admiration or our gratitude. In fact the
Baptist respect for personal freedom and recognition of personal
responsibility can stimulate us to look more deeply at our own
awareness of individual religious rights and responsibilities.
As the Second Vatican Council reminded us, freedom of
conscience is the other side of personal responsibility, and faith
is of necessity free. “For its part, authentic freedom is an
exceptional sign of the divine image within man. For God has
willed that man be left ‘in the hand of his own counsel’ so that
he can seek his Creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter
and blissful perfection through loyalty to him.
Hence man’s dignity demands that he act according to a
knowing and free choice. Such a choice is personally motivated
and prompted from within. It does not result from blind
internal impluse nor from mere external pressure.” (CHURCH
TODAY, no. 17).
BY STEVE LANDREGAN
Did you know that the Bible was named after a city? It is,
and that city, Byblos, on the coast of Lebanon, is one of the
more fascinating spots in the lands of the Bible.
As we have seen in our exploration of the Bible lands, the
Greeks were responsible for many of the names by which we
know the Middle East. Like Palestine and Phoenicia, Byblos was
named by the Greeks, and like the name Phoenicia, the name
Byblos was derived from the seaport’s most famous
export .. .papyrus. >
According to Bruce Conde, author of “The Way to Byblos,”
when the Greeks began to trade with the ancient city they
discovered Egyptian papyrus in use there, and immediately
began to look to the city as their primary source of the writing
material.
The Phoencians called the city Gebal, but to the Greeks it
was easier to call it after its most important export. The name
papyrus first became distorted to pulpos and in the vernacular
of the Greek sailors it became byblos. So to the rest of the
world Gebal was Byblos.
Even today, the port is known to the Western World as
Byblos, but the Lebanese still use the city’s ancient name,
Gebal, which is now spelled Jebail. The name Jebail incidentally
means little mountain.
The Greek’s distortion of the word papyrus had ramifications
far beyond the name of the city. The word came to apply to
any scroll written on papyrus, and ultimately came to be
synonymous with scroll and subsequently with the idea of a
collection of papyrii in any form, thus it also was used to
describe papyrii bound into books.
The Greek word byblos for book found its way into Latin
and all the romance languages, even into English, in such words
as bibliography. It is easy to understand how, in a world
permeated by Greek culture, the Holy Scriptures, “the book”
came to be called by the Greek word for book. So the Holy
Scriptures became Byblos, and in English, Bible. All becausfe
Greek sailors never learned to pronounce papyrus.
The Lebanese city of Byblos or Jebail, is itself one of the
most intriguing historical sites in a country filled with them. It
is possibly the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.
Archeologists have determined that the city was inhabited as
early as the Neolithic Age, as long as 5,000 to 7,000 years ago.
Evidence of a flourishing city during the later Chalcolithic Age,
and Bronze Age has also been discovered.
As a Phoenician port it was the point of export for the
famous Cedars of Lebanon. It became a Roman city and a
Crusader citadel in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D. and Byblos
probably has the oldest surviving Crusader Castle in the Middle
East.
One of the most interesting and antiquities is the sarcophagus
of King Ahiram, from the 11th century before Christ. As a
warning to potential grave robbers the vault contains in early
Phoenician script the words: “Warning, here thy death is
below.”
Inside the sarcophagus is a further inscription that contains
the words: “...if any King or any governor or any army
commander attacks Byblos and exposes this coffin, let his
judicial scepter be broken, let his royal throne be overthrown,
and let peace flee from Byblos, and as for him, let a vagabond
efface his inscription!”
Much more can be said about Byblos. It is indeed one of the
most intriguing spots in the “Lands of the Bible.”
■ ^
now Your Faith)
The Baptist Religion
BY WILLIAM J. WHALEN
_ How and when a person is baptized has been a central
concern for several centuries for the Christians known as
Baptists. They believe that only adults should receive Baptism
atnd that the only proper form is immersion. They reject such
practices as the baptism of infants or the pouring or sprinkling
of water in administering the ordinance.
*
Besides the Baptists many other churches prefer immersion,
including the Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, Brethren,
Menhonities, Seventh-day Adventists, and Mormons. Sometimes
the baptism will be held in a river or pond and at other times in
a baptismal pool in the church building. Until the 13th century
immersion was the normal form of Baptism in Roman
Catholicism and it remains an acceptable form in the Western
Church as well as the Eastern Orthodoxy.
Beyond their special views on Baptism the Baptists reject any
spiritual authority above that of the individual congregation.
The congregation has the authority to call and discharge the
preacher, determine the form of worship, elect elders and
deacons, and admit new members. Baptists proclaim “No
human founder, no human authority, no human creed.” Only
the Bible can bind the conscience of the Baptist believer.
Baptist beliefs can be traced to the persecuted Anabaptists of
the 16th century. Forming what has been called the left wing of
the Reformation, these Anabaptists preached that only adult
believers could declare their personal faith in Christ and
therefore receive the Baptism which symobolized this decision.
A small group of English dissenters formed a Baptist church in
Amsterdam in 1609.
Roger Williams founded the First Baptist church in America in
Providence, Rhode Island in 1639, Williams remained a Baptist
for only a few months; he spent the rest of his life as a Seeker.
But the seed was planted and the Baptist movement registered
great gains in later years, especially during the 19th century.
Disputes over slavery divided the Baptists in 1845 and gave
rise to the Southern Baptist Convention which has since become
the largest single Protestant church in the nation. Southern
Baptist congregations have been organized in all 50 states and
baptize about 1,000 new members every day of the year.
Southern Baptists have been distinguished by their energetic
evangelistic programs, extensive Sunday School system, and
conservative theology. Billy Graham, a Southern Baptist
minister, is probably the best known Protestant clergyman in
the country and one of the most successful revivalists. Not
enthusiastic about the ecumenical search for more visible church
unity, the Southern Baptists have stayed out of the National
and World Councils of Churches.
.With fewer than 1,500,000 members the American Baptist
Church, formerly known as the Northern Baptists, tolerates a
wider range of theological opinion. These Baptists have made
substantial contributions to local, national, and world church
councils.
Baptist worship tends to be simple and informal and features
the sermon, gospel hymns, and Scripture reading. The average
Baptist congregation will observe the Lord’s Supper four times a
year as a memorial service.
“HOW AND WHEN a person is baptized has been a
central concern for several centuries of the Christians
known as Baptists. They believe that only adults
should receive baptism and that the only proper form
is immersion.” A chaplain baptizes a serviceman in a
Vietnam river. (NC Photo)
--Religions
“BILLY GRAHAM, a Southern Baptist minister, is Billy Graham’s preaching is recorded by a cameraman
probably the best known Protestant clergyman in the at a rally in Wisconsin. (NC Photo by Robert L. Miller)
country and one of the most successful revivalists.”
A Children’s Mass
BY FATHER JOSEPH M. CHAMPLIN
El Camelo Retreat House in Redlands, California overlooks
the San Bernardino valley and from there on a smog-free spring
day one can see in the distance extensive orange groves and
bordering snowcapped mountains.
I conducted a priest’s retreat at this beautiful spot in May,
smelled for the first time that lovely fragrance of orange
blossoms at night and heard young Father Ed Wood tell me
about a special children’s Easter Sunday Mass.
He and his pastor at St. Therese parish in San Diego, Msgr.
Sean Murray, knew that the relatively small church would be
filled for the main services on Easter. Since Father Wood had
presided over liturgies for children before, it seemed like a good
idea to propose this unique Paschal Mass for youngsters in
grades 1-6. By having children in the nearby parish hall, the
church proper would be available for more adults.
Sixty boys and girls arrived on a Saturday two weeks before
Easter to plan and prepare this Easter Eucharist. They had
responded to pulpit announcements, bulletin appeals, and
letters from religious instruction teachers, all of which
publicized the Mass and invited volunteers for the Saturday
preparation event.
Some came to read, others to paint,still others to sing or play
in the folk group.
“Do you know any of these songs we will be using?”, Father
Wood asked a trumpet-carrying grammar school musician who
arrived late on the scene.
following Saturday various symbols of Easter and the
Resurrection.
A Paschal lamb attached to a 5’ cardboard cross served as the
base for countless balls of cotton which were glued to the
animal and gave it a fuzzy appearance.
This with other cardboard items-an Easter lily, a beautiful
butterfly, a large sun and an Easter candle with Alpha and
Omega on it-were hung from the ceiling or placed around the
altar together with many banners made throughout the year by
students in CCD classes.
Two children, ages 6 and 9, were baptized at the Mass. Father
Wood gave them large candles several weeks prior to the service
with directions to decorate the tapers at home. They did so and
brought the finished product to this Paschal, baptismal
celebration.
Nine youngsters who volunteered to act as lectors proclaimed
the Easter story that day with one taking several sentences. A
few even memorized their lines.
The participating children oh Easter Sunday had to pay an
“admission price” if they wished to attend this Mass. Every
youngster was required to bring into the sanctuary a real flower
and an Easter egg prepared at home. These were deposited in
vases (coffe cans converted the day before) and formed an
attractive setting for the Paschal candle.
The 200 yellow and orange chairs set up for this Mass had
helium-filled ballons fixed to them. Originally Father Wood
intended that the children would take them home as souvenirs.
Since 400 came, he altered his plan.
“No. I only know one tune, ‘When the Saints Come Marching
In’.”
“Fine. That can be our processional hymn.”
The artists used their talents to fashion on this and the
After the Mass, the youngsters left the hall, balloons in hand,
and with great shouts of joy and excitement released them.
Their parents and other adults were at that moment leaving the
Church down the hill from the hall. They heard the commotion,
looked up, and saw a cloud of colorful balloons rising, like the
Lord, to a distant, heavenly destination.
“ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING antiquities is
the sarcophagus of King Ahiram, from the 11th
century before Christ. . .Inside (are) the words: ‘ . . .if
any King or any governor or any army commander
attacks Byblos and exposes this coffin, let his judicial
scepter be broken, let his royal throne be overthrown,
and let peace flee from Byblos’.” The sarcophagus of
King Ahriam. (NC Photo courtesy Lebanese Tourist
Office)